Visitors coming to the Illinois Statehouse to see their lawmakers in action, or just to tour the historic building, may see longer lines to get through security screening during the upcoming legislative sessions.… MORE
Category Archives: State News
Former Madigan ally ordered to testify in ex-speaker’s corruption trial
Former state Rep. Eddie Acevedo never had to appear in a federal courtroom between 2021 and 2022 as he was arraigned on tax evasion charges, later pleaded guilty and was then sentenced to six months in prison all via videoconference due to COVID-19.… MORE
Appeals court keeps Illinois’ assault weapons ban in place
Illinois’ assault weapons ban will remain in place, at least until a federal appeals court hears full arguments challenging a lower court ruling that found the law unconstitutional.… MORE
Judge to decide conditions for Sean Grayson’s pretrial release on Friday
In the first court hearing since an appellate court ruled former Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson should get an opportunity for freedom, a judge set Friday as the hearing date for the least restrictive conditions of release.… MORE
State watchdog uncovers at least $7.2M in PPP fraud by state employees
A state watchdog has identified at least $7.2 million in fraudulent claims and more than 275 instances of misconduct by state employees accused of bilking a federal program designed to help businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.… MORE
Senator Durbin critical of President Trump’s decision making since Election win
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – What’s Donald Trump going to do next? He’s getting lots of attention – some positive, some negative – with his choices to be part of his new administration. U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) says the picks already show they could use the customary vetting. “In the old days, the president-elect…… MORE
Some Illinois Republican senators say Gov. Pritzker is doing far too little to stop fentanyl coming into state prisons
Prisons are dangerous places, and a group of senators says it doesn’t help that staff and inmates are exposed to deadly drugs.… MORE
‘You shouldn’t be talking like that’: Madigan scolded alderman-turned-FBI mole for bringing up ‘quid pro quo’
Then-Chicago Ald. Danny Solis had already been cooperating with the FBI for a little more than a year in June 2017 when he received an unexpected voicemail from powerful Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.… MORE
Hemp growers push back against proposed new regulations
A legislative committee and the Illinois Department of Agriculture agreed recently to delay finalizing new regulations governing hemp production amid an outcry of protests from small, independent producers. … MORE
Could plastic contaminants be put to use as fertilizers
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – “A plastic fork or a plastic straw,” said John Scott. “I mean, it’s crazy that these materials have been designed to last forever, but they are only intended to be used for a couple of minutes and thrown away.” Scott, a senior chemist at the Prairie Research Institute at the…… MORE
Blogs
Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all
By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year. It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …
Is federal mobilization the answer?
By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city. Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…
In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans
By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…
Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life
Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University. We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk. Going to work every day for some people means…